Graveyard, burial ground in County Donegal (DG005-012----)

Marked 'Ardmore Graveyard' on the 2nd edition of the OS 6-inch maps the site is said (Bonner 1972, 72) to mark the site of an early ecclesiastical foundation but there is no archaeological evidence to confirm this. There is no evidence of a church site wihtin this graveyard which may once have been part of the graveyard attached to the nearby Church of Ireland church located 75m to the NNW. The Church of Ireland church appears to have been built on the site of an earlier church (DG005-012001-) with graveyard to S and W of church which may originally have joined up with Ardmore Graveyard located 60m to the S of this graveyard. The earliest headstones in the graveyard around the Church of Ireland church date from the early 1700's. According to Bonner 'The original graveyard extended from Ardmore where there are the remains of the old burial ground. Across the road running through the village to where the church now stands. Road workers found human bones in the soil while road widening.' (Bonner 1972, 72). The above description was derived from the 'Archaeological Survey of County Donegal. A description of the field antiquities of the County from the Mesolithic Period to the 17th century.' Compiled by: Brian Lacey with Eamon Cody, Claire Cotter, Judy Cuppage, Noel Dunne, Vincent Hurley, Celie O'Rahilly, Paul Walsh and Seán Ó Nualláin (Lifford: Donegal County Council, 1983). On arrival on site, it was discovered that the foundations for the proposed development had already been excavated but were still open. Culdaff is the site of an early ecclesiastical site founded by St Buadan. No extant remains survive; however, a small graveyard called 'Ardmore graveyard', a short distance west-north-west of the development, may be part of the ecclesiastical site. The buildings adjacent to the development were constructed during the 20th century. Eleven foundation trenches were excavated by machine before this writer's arrival on site. They were 1.83-12.19m long, 0.9-1.4m wide and 1-1.4m deep. The stratigraphy revealed was the same over the entire area: topsoil mixed with fill, lying directly above bedrock. The bedrock was located at 0.9-1.4m below the surface. The only exception was the presence of the foundation of a recently demolished one-storey building in two of the trenches. This foundation was 0.3-0.4m wide and 0.5m thick. The trenches revealed nothing of archaeological significance. The topsoil/fill contained large quantities of ashes, modern pottery sherds including whiteware, and modern bottles. This site consisted of a backyard/garden that had been backfilled over the past 60-70 years with modern rubbish. (Excavations Bulletin 1999) Richard Crumlish, Archaeological Services Unit Ltd, Purcell House, Oranmore, Co. Galway.